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Perth,
Western Australia
August 23, 2008
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Perth
has an exciting and regularly changing
theatre scene - from independent local
companies to visiting international
productions. Here's a sample of some of
the productions on offer at the moment.
You can check out our calendar of events
on
now
and coming
attractions.
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Matthew
swallows his
swords
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Sword-swallowing
Mathew Henshaw says he's a
careful fool.
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Mathew Henshaw of Wembley is one of only
three people in Australia trained in the
art of sword swallowing, a technique he
learnt from an Indian fakir (who has since
died of smoking related causes).
Launching the Fremantle Buskers
Festival on Thursday "Saint Mathew", the
patron saint of vaudeville, broke the
world record for sword swallowing by
thrusting 14 custom-made 60cm-long swords
down his throat.
In front of a crowd, cringing behind
their hands, a breakfast-free Mathew
lubricated each sword with jelly,
swallowed a mouthful of the lubricant,
gathered the swords in his hands and,
throwing his head back, shoved
four-and-a-half kilos of solid stainless
steel into his stomach.
The three-second spectacle ended on a
stomach-turning gag and a successful new
world record.
After downing a glass of champagne with
equal ease, Mathew declared: "No blood!
All fools follow me!"
The Guinness Book of Records retired
the category of sword swallowing in 1970
after an American circus performer choked
to death in his attempt to swallow 13
swords. The category was only reopened
last year.
"If you do something dangerous and
survive they call you a hero," said
Mathew.
"But if you do something dangerous and
get hurt they call you a stupid idiot. I
call myself a fool, but a very careful
fool."
After his record breaking performance
Mathew admitted that it was an horrendous
sensation.
"My stomach was churning and my brain
was screaming 'What's going on down
there!'
"Swallowing four-and-a-half kilos of
solid steel is not something I plan to do
on a regular basis. It's quite a strain
and I have reached the limit of insanity."
This charming, witty and remarkably
sane man who does incredibly insane feats
of physical endurance, includes in his
street vaudeville performances, chain-saw
juggling, harpoon swallowing, escapology
and sword, all wrapped up in a comedy
routine.
He will be just one of more than 145
busking displays that make up the
Fremantle Busking Festival.
The second annual Fremantle Buskers
Festival will run over the Easter long
weekend, from Saturday, April 22, to
Monday, April 24. Side shows range from
juggling, magic acts, fire eating, music,
pyrotechnics and, of course, sword
swallowing.
Acts can be found from the Fishing Boat
Harbour to South Terrace. The cappuccino
strip will be closed to cars on Saturday
night for a street party.
For a copy of the program ring Freo
Info on 9432 9888.
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Paul Johnson
re-creates the adventurous little
cat, Cat Balloon, with skill and
humor.
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Noriko Nishimoto, artistic director of
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, says she she
is here on leave from the moon...
No wonder she has such a close
attachment to little Cat Balloon.
Devised from a book written by Paul
(who writes under the name of Palo)
Morgan, Cat Balloon is a delightful story
that has succesfully been adapted for the
stage by Noriko and Jane Davies.
Employing a range of puppeteering
techniques, from traditional black theatre
puppetry to mime and movement, the story
gently unfolds with imagination, humour
and even a touch of magic.
Accompanied by a narrator and Lee
Buddle's evocative music, Cat Balloon
defies attempts to keep him on solid
ground and finds a way to the moon.
Cat Balloon is played by both a puppet
and the lithe and skilful form of Paul
Johnson, a technique the children in the
audience readily accept.
Rachael Whitworth and Michael Barlow
are engaging as life-sized,
self-indulgent, doubting cats, moving
swiftly and confidently to manipulate
props to magical effect.
This company has a clear understanding
of what children will find acceptable and
believable, while challenging and
entertaining them at the same time.
This most critical of audiences was
captivated by the imaginative "flags" that
become the sweeping, swirling ocean,
magical balloons that appear and
disappear, life-sized cats that come to
say hello and a little cat, filled with
the light of the moon, who flies above
their heads.
Cat Balloon is a perfect holiday outing
for youngsters aged around four to nine.
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President
- illusional and
delusional
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Michael Loney
plays an autocratic President
Wilson and Jodie Buzza is his
caring wife.
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Regulars of the Effie Crump Theatre will
know of its traditional welcoming curtain
speech before each performance.
So when artistic director John Milson
begged the audience not to reveal what
they were about to see, or discuss it
"beyond these four walls", I knew that
reviewing this show was going to be
tough.
Ron Blair wrote President Wilson in
Paris in the style of Hitchcock, employing
similar methods to other great thriller
writers like Ira Levin, but with his own
brand of humour.
Set in Paris at the Hotel Murat in
1919, President Wilson (Michael Loney),
his faithful wife Edith (Jodie Buzza) by
his side, is meeting with various heads of
state to introduce his League of
Nations.
In a rich, plummy American accent the
President is on the phone to his adviser
and confidante, Colonel House (Steve
Turner).
Although it is not necessary to know of
or even understand the historical
references in this production, they are
nevertheless interesting and, with a few
modern references thrown in, highly
political - but that's missing the
point...
The most important thing about a
psychological drama is to keep it moving
so swiftly the audience barely has time to
figure out one move before there's
another.
In the words of Hitchcock "turn the
viewer in one direction and then in
another; ...keep him as far as possible
from what's actually going to happen."
Director John Milson manages this with
consummate skill. The three actors are
cleverly orchestrated around the tiny
stage as the action darts from Paris to
Sydney, hotel to mansion, past to present,
with accents snapping from American to
Australian.
Michael Loney as the autocratic and
delusional president, Jodie Buzza as the
caring but cunning wife and Steve Turner
as the confused and desperate Colonel
House are superbly confident in their
intriguing roles.
The bizarre twist in this story of one
man's passion may leave you puzzled at
interval - but fear not, all will be
revealed!
This is a play full of suspense and
surprises, but perhaps most surprising of
all, a play of great wit and satire.
President Wilson in Paris continues at
the Effie Crump Theatre until April 29.
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Real
accents in Irish
play
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The Blarney Players revive some classic
Irish drama with Sean O'Casey's Juno and
the Paycock.
The tragi-comedy, widely proclaimed as
one of the best Irish plays ever written,
opens at The Blarney Castle on Wednesday,
April 12, at 8pm.
The cast, almost all Dublin-born
performers, say they can offer an
authentic interpretation of life in Dublin
in the 1920s, during the civil war.
The Blarney Castle presents theatre in
a dinner setting, with a meal available
before the show if required. Dinner and
the show costs $25, or the show only is
$12.
The Blarney Castle is at the corner of
Newcastle and Stirling streets in
Perth.
Bookings can be made on 9328 7996.
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